1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multiple-color recording apparatus for recording on a sheet of recording paper, the magnitudes of a plurality of varying analog signals as a pattern of dots in different colors, and also for recording characters, symbols and the like related to the analog recording as a pattern of dots in desired colors.
2. Description of the Prior art
Recording apparatus of the automatic balancing type for striking dots have heretofore been generally used to record the magnitudes of a plurality of analog input signals. The prior apparatus have an input switch for successively selecting the input signals to effect automatic balancing operation and dot striking recording. The known arrangements require a substantial amount of time (for example, several seconds) to record one dot and hence are not suitable for recording high speed operations. A complex mechanism would need to be added to include a function for skipping portions to be unrecorded, resulting in a complicated overall construction. Printing characters, symbols and the like related to the recording would require a mechanism for carrying out such printing.
The foregoing problems experienced with conventional dot striking recording apparatus of the automatic balancing type have allegedly been solved by a recording apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,273 issued on Feb. 14, 1978 to Wayne P. Dupree, et al. The recording apparatus disclosed in that patent has a thermal head, movable to sweep in a direction normal to the direction of feed of a sheet of thermosensitive recording paper, for recording analog data with dots in the order of magnitudes of the data on the recording sheet and also for recording characters, symbols and the like related to the analog recording as a pattern of thermally printed dots. Printed data recording by the thermal dot printer are available only in a single color, and hence could not be identified clearly in the event the recordings crossed each other or were too crowded.
Thus, there is still a deficiency in the art in this particular technical area.